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Coming off a banner year for Spanish olive oil production, the forecast, both economically and meteorologically speaking, has not been so kind for 2013.

The majority of the world’s olive oil is produced in Spain, where the harvest begins in late November and ends in February. But a drought in that country this year means there are fewer olives from which to make oil.

Pair that with the country’s economic troubles, and the price of Spanish olive oil has risen by roughly 30 per cent. Not the doomsday some were predicting, but a significant increase.

Daniele Beauchamp co-owns Olive & Olives, a Montreal-based company with a store at 779 Queen St. E. that specializes in Spanish olive oil.

Spanish oils from the latest harvest are already on Canadian shelves. Beauchamp’s company and its Spanish suppliers are absorbing as much of the rising costs as they can.

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Not every producer has been affected equally, said Beauchamp. However she cut ties with two producers whose prices jumped 30 per cent, an increase too big for the company to shoulder.

“Especially with the economic situation here, it’s not a time that we can really increase the prices,” she said.

Consumers will see a 5-to-10 per cent increase in the price, which translates to an extra $1 to $2 for 500 mL.

The most popular oils, the Olive & Olives No. 1 and No. 8 brands of extra-virgin olive oil, as well as Suerte Alta extra-virgin olive oil, sell for between $18.95 and $21.95 for a 500mL bottle. The store sells only extra-virgin olive oil. Prices range from $12.95 to $55.95 for 500 mL.

Acropolis Organics, sold in various grocery stores in Toronto as well as at St. Lawrence Market, gets its oil from olives grown on owner Panagiotis Tsiriotakis’s family’s estate on the island of Crete in Greece. He said because so much oil comes from Spain, the price of oil from other countries will rise as the price of Spanish oil increases.

Tsiriotakis said his company absorbed the first price increase, about two months ago. But warned his buyers the next increase will have to be shouldered by consumers. On average, he said, prices will rise about by $1 to $3. The most popular bottle sells for $14 for 500mL.

But price increases aren’t the only problem when the supply runs low.

“The issue is, the higher the price goes, the more incentive there is to fraud,” says Tom Mueller, who wrote Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil and has a website about the olive oil industry.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, to carry the “virgin” designation in Canada, olive oil must meet International Olive Council standards. Only oil extracted from olives using mechanical or physical processes, unaltered by heat-based processes and basically untreated can be considered virgin olive oil. The amount of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid, in the oil is the main criterion that determines whether it is extra virgin, virgin or ordinary virgin.

Andreas Voulgaris owner of Olive Oil Emporium on Bayview Ave. said a taste test is the most important way to determine the freshness of olive oil. He said older oils won’t hurt you, but they’re basically cooking fats.

“Fresh oil should taste like the fruit that it’s from,” he said. “It shouldn’t be greasy or heavy ... You should be able to drink it.”

Mueller said other signs of freshness are a specific point of origin (not just made in Italy, but made at a specific farm, for example), and dark bottles, that protect the oil from light which degrades its quality.

Mia Sturup, co-owner of the Toronto Olive & Olives location, says consumers should check the best before date on the bottle, make sure the oil is produced and bottled in the same place, and that it is stored properly in the store, meaning out of direct light.

A spokesperson for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said olive oil is tested on an ongoing basis. Anyone who doubts the authenticity of their olive oil is encouraged to contact the manufacturer, or the CFIA.

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